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LOT 1641
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Stirrup Mount with Pseudo-Runes
11TH CENTURY A.D.
2 in. (19.88 grams, 50 mm).
Williams's Class A Type 1 with trapezoidal plaque and narrow ledge to the rear; incised geometric design following the outline of the mount with symmetrical panels; to the neck five vertical lines, perhaps pseudo-runes. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceProperty of a gentleman; acquired in the 1970s.
LiteratureCf. Williams, D., Late Saxon Stirrup-Strap Mounts, York, 1997, item 51, for type.
FootnotesThe markings on the neck appear to conform to the shapes of four runes, being inverted chevrons to the edges (runic 'U'), a character of two verticals and a sloping cross-bar (runic 'H'), and a simple vertical stroke (runic 'I'). However, the outer chevrons are formed as the junction of the inner border with a vertical while the cross-bar appears to be a later abrasion. The form of 'H' with a single cross-bar is very early (2nd -5th century AD) and is almost unknown in England, while by the 8th century this form had been replaced in Scandinavia by a rune formed as a vertical with a small saltire to the centre (like an asterisk). It is nevertheless possible that these marks were intended as a form of pseudo-runic text.
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LOT 1641
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Stirrup Mount with Pseudo-Runes
Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
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Viking Bronze Howling Beast Mount
11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Formed as an openwork seated wolf with long curled tail, head raised and mouth open; similar to Class A, Type 11A. 10.6 grams, 33 mm
Found near Norwich, Norfolk, UK. -
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Very Large Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Horse Harness Link
11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
Lozengiform in plan with pierced bulb to opposed angles, one with ring in situ; obverse with reserved rim, beast in profile with bent forelegs and gaping jaws, tail curled above the back, attacking a serpentine creature with segmented body and three-toed claws. 81 grams, 10.8 cm
Found Lincolshire, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12988-242245.
Openwork rhombic mounts were found in various Scandinavian places. One was found, for example, in a sunken hut at Sebbersund in Northern Jutland, and dated to the passage of 10th-11th century A.D. An openwork mount depicting a four-legged animal from Lund was excavated from a pit in a cultural deposit with dendro-chronological dates between 1060-1070. -
Viking Bronze Bird Brooch
10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £176
Modelled in profile with radiating tripartite crest, triangular stub wing, splayed feet, catch and pin-lugs to the reverse. 10.9 grams, 38 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
Bird brooches from the late Viking era have been found in Scandinavia as well in the English Danelaw, through to the early Norman era; such brooches can be dated to the 11th and even early 12th century.
